best thing I can tell you is, after you apply the dye, lock it down with a couple coats of SPRAY lacquer. If you can find a dye stain in a spray form that would work well too... I work on a lathe with Dyes quite a bit. but I have an airbrush I use to apply it. I have found that applying it with cloth, sponge or brush, it doesn't coat evenly. maybe I was impatient at the time and should have put more coats on, maybe it was my technique, I dunno.. One more tip, If you use an "alcohol" based dye. DO NOT USE an alcohol top coat to lock it down. The alcohol will reactivate the stain layer and will pick up the pigments. Same goes for water based dye and water based topcoat.